The invention relates to an instrument panel, in particular for a display in a motor vehicle, with a sheet-like carrier on which colors have been applied for representing a scale and/or characters and/or symbols as well as for covering the regions outside the contours of the scale, characters or symbols.
In the case of such instrument panels, it is known for the creation of color representations to apply the particular color [lacuna] the carrier at the places for a scale, characters and symbols that are to be perceptible in this particular color. This application of color takes place by means of screen printing and requires that a color with exactly the desired coloration is used. Since instrument panels for a display in a motor vehicle are usually provided with a plurality of color imprints, these different colors must be available in the respectively desired coloration. The color tones of the colors to be used in the case of different displays are usually not the same, so that stockkeeping with a large number of colors is required and, if there is a change of instrument panels to be printed, this causes great expenditure on re-equipping.
It is therefore the object of the invention to provide an instrument panel of the type specified at the beginning which can be produced with the widest variety of color tones in a simple way.
This object is achieved according to the invention by the colors of the scale and/or the characters and/or the symbols comprising a system of layers formed by a plurality of transparent color layers of different coloration fully or partially covering over one another. This formation allows any desired color toning to be achieved with few basic colors by appropriate printing one on top of the other. Consequently, only the basic colors have to be available for a wide variety of color tones, so that the stockkeeping of the colors can be kept down. Re-equipping for other color tones to be produced in the case of a wide variety of instrument panels is no longer needed.
The sheet-like carrier may be both opaque, with preferably white coloration, and transparent or translucent as well as able to be transilluminated by a light source from its side facing away from the observer. The incident light reflected in this case at the carrier or the transmitted light passing through the carrier radiates through the transparent color layers covering over one another and thus creates the respectively desired color toning by mixing.
A particularly fine structure, which also permits particularly smooth color transitions, is achieved by the transparent color layers of the system of layers being applied to the carrier in a grid of points, it being possible for the points of the grid of points to be approximately between 400 and 3000 points per inch, in particular approximately 800 points per inch. This gives such a fine resolution of the grid of points that it is no longer seen by the human eye as a grid but as a homogeneous color.
The points of the grid of points may be of equal size or else of different sizes.
As an alternative to the transparent color layers applied in a grid of points, these transparent color layers may also be applied to the carrier as sheet-like areas of color, the sheet-like areas of color preferably corresponding to the areas of the scale and/or the characters and/or the symbols.
If the transparent color layers of the system of layers are covered from the observer side by a transflective color layer, the color of the transflective color layer is visible when there is incident light from the front and the color of the transparent color layers, or a mixed color composed of the transparent color layers and the transflective color layer, is visible when there is transmitted light from the rear side of the instrument panel.
In this case, the transflective color layer is preferably white.
If the transflective color layer is cut away in parts of the scale and/or the characters and/or the symbols and transparent color layers fully or partially covering over one another, forming a further system of layers, [lacuna] applied to the carrier in the region of the cutaway, the region of the cutaway can be seen in a different color when there is incident light than the part covered by the transparent color layer. This makes it possible, for example, to present a particular part, such as the end region of a scale for example, in a distinctive red color for example, while the other part of the scale appears white.
To even out the uneven light-intensity distribution of the light source illuminating Instrument panel from the rear side, an evening-out print corresponding to the light-intensity distribution of the light source may be applied, fully or partially covering over the carrier, on the side of the first and/or further system of layers facing away from the observer.
If in this case the evening-out print comprises color layers which fully or partially cover over one another and are applied in a grid of points or as areas of color of variable density, an evening-out print having smooth transitions adapted to the finest differences in light intensity can also be created by the fine structure of the evening-out print.
The first system of layers and/or the transflective layer and/or the further system of layers and/or the evening-out print may be applied to the carrier on the side facing the observer or on the side facing away from the observer. If all the layers are applied to the carrier on the same side, this simplifies the operation of printing these layers.
The sheet-like carrier may be a sheeting, in particular a sheeting consisting of polycarbonate.
To increase the adhesiveness of the color coating on the carrier, in particular on the carrier in the form of a sheeting, an adhesion-promoter layer may be arranged on the side of the carrier bearing a color coating, between the carrier and the color coating.
The color covering the regions outside the contours of the scale, the characters or symbols may be an at least largely opaque, in particular black, color. This increases the contrast between the area of the display and the scale, characters or symbols and consequently improves the good readability.
Each of the transparent color layers of the first and/or further system of layers may be applied to the carrier in a separate printing operation.
If the first and/or further system of layers is applied to the carrier as a separately created system of layers, these systems of layers can be produced with very high dimensional accuracy and avoid register problems when printing onto the carrier.
The first system of layers and/or the transflective layer and/or the further system of layers and/or the evening-out print and/or the opaque color may be applied to the carrier in separate printing operations.
A simplification of the printing operation and increase in dimensional accuracy of the individual layers with respect to one another is achieved if the first system of layers and/or the transflective layer and/or the further system of layers and/or the evening-out print and/or the opaque color are applied to the carrier as a separately created system of layers.